A long-awaited Department of Defense report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute contained particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public later this week.
